


Thanks Quarantine

by Krislmart



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Castiel and Dean Winchester Being Idiots, Castiel and Dean Winchester are Roommates, Fluff, M/M, Pandemic - Freeform, Quarantine, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23798785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krislmart/pseuds/Krislmart
Summary: Dean gets to know his new roommate very quickly once they're stuck in their apartment due to lockdown orders and a worldwide pandemic happening outside their door.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 6
Kudos: 129
Collections: Destiel Instagram One Shot Contest - April 2020





	Thanks Quarantine

**Author's Note:**

> Drabble written for April's fic challenge. Prompt was Easter, quarantine, April Fool's Day or a combo of all three.
> 
> This isn't beta-read and all mistakes are my own. I wrote part of this on my phone and autocorrect is definitely not my friend.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! :)

There’s nothing like being stuck in 1,000 square feet of space with a new roommate during a worldwide pandemic.

Dean had gotten to know his new roommate somewhat over the past two months. Dean and Benny had been roommates for a year and a half until Benny graduated in December. Thankfully, their student housing was individual leases on rooms so Dean didn’t have to cover Benny’s half of the rent, but he did start advertising for a roommate. It would be so much easier if he could get someone to move in rather than getting a completely random roommate from the front office.

That was how he ended up with Castiel Novak. The guy had seen Dean’s flyer in the library and left a frantic voicemail asking if the room was still available because he needed a new place immediately. Hesitantly, Dean called him back and said he could come over to check the place out. Turns out Castiel’s current roommate hadn’t informed him that their house was condemned and that Castiel has less than 15 days to find a new place to live.

After a few moments of talking, not to mention Dean’s jaw dropping when Castiel mentioned he had three majors, they decided to give the whole roommate thing a try. Their schedules were fairly busy so they wouldn’t be in each other’s hair too much. Now that Dean thought about it, this was a perfect storm in the making.

On a typical week, Dean would go to his classes and get his homework and projects done before heading into work at one of the local breweries. Then, on nights that he wasn’t working, he would hang out with friends downtown and usually hook up with someone.

That was the one thing that Dean did know about his roommate: Castiel was completely ambivalent about the gender of who Dean brought home. Dean was quick to bring it up during their interview and Castiel was quick to say that it wouldn’t be a problem. A little sheepishly, he mentioned that his family was extremely religious and that at one point he was a religious studies major but, once he got into college, he realized that maybe all of his parents’ beliefs weren’t accurate. And his ears burned as he softly admitted that he personally didn’t care what anyone’s gender was. Dean smiled and clapped a hand on Castiel’s shoulder as he invited the man to live with him.

Now, though, it was a completely different scenario. Dean could never have predicted that he would get a new roommate two months before this pandemic shut everything down. Not only were classes moved online but Dean was out of a job and couldn’t even hang out with his friends. Not to mention, trying to hook up with anyone was impossible.

Dean stumbled out of his room, desperately needing a cup of coffee. He would kill for one of Donna’s signature espresso drinks that could keep you awake for hours. Thinking about coffee, Dean stretched and suddenly froze in the hallway entrance.

Castiel was laying on his shoulders, arms flat by his side, and torso straight up in the air with his legs fully extended and toes touching the floor behind his head. Dean’s eyes widened as he took it all in, thoughts flying through his head.  _ He does yoga? He’s so flexible! How does he do that? Jeez his head is almost in his crotch… _ Heat flooded his face with the last thought.

“Hello Dean,” Castiel said. At some point he had maneuvered into a sitting position with his legs crossed.

“Hi,” Dean rasped. He cleared his throat a couple of times before attempting anything else. “I didn’t know you did yoga?”  _ Wow Dean, way to phrase that like a question _ .

Cas stretched his arms up and slowly rolled into a standing position. “I’ve been practicing for a few years now. I’ve found it’s a good way to get my stretching in and it also calms me down and gets rid of some of my anxiety and stress. Normally, I’m done with yoga by the time you wake up. I lost track of time this morning but I’ll make sure to keep my sessions to my room--”

“No, dude,” Dean interrupted. “This is your space too. I think it’s cool.” He cringed internally. “Honestly, I should probably look into doing something since the gyms are all closed.”

Cas’ face glowed. “I would be happy to help you learn some simple yoga poses and walk you through a few sessions. There are so many benefits.”

And that was how Dean found himself dressed in sweats and a t-shirt every morning, learning yoga. 

Dean could admit that he was awful at communicating. Usually his friends could weasel information out of him after a drink or two at the bar and honestly, Dean was glad to spill. Sometimes you needed someone else’s viewpoint. But now, he didn’t have that release. So instead, he turned to his phone. 

A few months ago, Sam had introduced Dean to TikTok. He loved his high school aged brother but couldn’t help but shake his head at some of the things Sam posted. But, without fail, he downloaded the app, not only to keep up with the kid but also because some of those videos were hilarious. He swore he would never post. Until he somehow caught some guy pretending to be Chuck Norris get taken down by a 5’2 blonde girl. And so he started documenting weird or interesting things and posting them with funny audio clips. But, he swore to himself, he would never put himself in his videos.

Now, Dean was about to break his own promise.  _ No one really follows me _ , he mused.  _ It would be like screaming into the void _ .  _ And who knows, maybe someone would have advice _ . Dean wasn’t new to the whole “liking a guy” thing, but actually trying to date one and not just hookup? He shivered.  _ Charlie and Sam both are always harping on me about how talking my feelings out will help. Come on Dean, you can do this. Like you said, no one follows you. _

Dean paused, listening to make sure the shower was still running down the hall, before taking a deep breath and hitting record. “Everyone’s doing these ‘Stay Home, Stay Strong’ videos but what do I do when I’m staying home but not staying strong in my fight against finding my roommate hot?”

He added tags and quickly hit post instead of deleting the entire thing. Then he started scrolling. Lips twitched up in a smile at one of the new trends: purple smoke with people dancing to what was leaving their body. An idea hit him and he propped his phone up to record. With a snicker, he added the caption “Every rational thought leaving my body when I see my roommate doing yoga.”

As the stay at home orders continued, Dean got to know more about Cas and what made him tick. Usually learning more about his crushes made him run for the hills because, without fail, he would find something wrong with them. Now, Dean realized he was in deep shit. 

He kept filming more TikToks and couldn’t help but notice how he was gaining followers. People had started commenting on his daily updates, wanting more details. A few even demanded a sneak peek at his roommate, which led Dean to sneakily film a few seconds of Cas explaining to Dean why exactly bees were important to the well-being of the planet. Later that night, he uploaded it and then green-screened a photo of Cas and rambled about how it was impossible to not find all of that incredibly adorable.

“Gabriel, you know I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Dean froze in the middle of editing his latest video. He hadn’t expected Cas to be back inside from his run so soon.  _ Thankfully I already finished filming _ . A smile appeared when he heard Cas going back and forth with his older brother. Several long nights on the couch talking about their lives had been devoted to exactly how Gabriel had chosen to torment Cas over the years. Gabriel called it love; Cas called it torture. He chuckled thinking about how he and Sammy had acted toward each other. “Surprised we didn’t give mom and dad a heart attack,” he murmured.

“What is a TikTok?” Cas grumbled loudly.

Dean couldn’t breathe. He felt ice cold but burning hot at the same time.  _ Calm the fuck down Dean _ , he hissed internally.  _ Gabriel probably is trying to show Cas something funny. Everyone’s on TikTok during this mess. Wait...everyone’s on TikTok. But, there’s no way Gabriel saw my videos. Plus, he doesn’t know what I look like. _

A knock stopped Dean’s rampaging thoughts. “Yeah?” he croaked, hastily clearing his throat while Cas opened the door.

“Dean, would you like some breakfast? I kind of want to make French toast and I can never make enough for only myself.” Cas smiled at Dean. 

_ There’s no way he would be that calm if he knew _ , Dean reassured himself. He sucked in a deep breath before smiling back. “Sure, Cas. Let me finish this up and I’ll be right out.”

Cas nodded before pulling the door closed behind him. Dean let his breath out in a whoosh. Biting his lip, he put the finishing touches on his last video and posted it. Before heading to the kitchen, he tucked his phone in the pocket of his sweatpants. Whistling as he walked down the short hallway, he couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Cas diligently focused on making French toast. 

_ Adorable _ , Dean thought. 

It wasn’t until they were sitting at the table that Cas finally spoke up again. “I’m surprised you find me talking about bees adorable.” 

Dean choked on the bite he had just put in his mouth. His hand began trembling so badly that he dropped his fork and he could hear his heart pounding. He coughed, trying to clear his airway. Cas’ eyes widened as he half-rose, ready to perform the Heimlich.  _ Of course he would know the Heimlich. Always prepared. Shut up, Dean! _

“What do you mean?” Dean’s voice broke.

Cas’ face transformed into a gummy grin. “Gabriel sent me the link to your account. It was very flattering. And very informative.” He put his fork down and reached out toward Dean. “And completely reciprocated.”

Dean’s heart stopped. “Really?” he whispered. “Shit Cas, I know I should have told you, but wouldn’t that have been awkward? ‘Hey I like you and even if you don’t like me, well hey we’re stuck in this apartment until God knows when.’ Can you really blame me for wanting to avoid that?”

A laugh broke Dean’s rant. “Considering it was the same reason I tried so hard to not check you out or excessively correct your yoga posture. And I tried my best to not stare at you.”

“You wanted to check me out?” Dean smirked. “You’re free to now, you know.”

“I think I might finish my breakfast first.” Before Dean’s face could fall, Cas looked up at him, eyes bright with mischief. “After all, I want to make sure to keep my energy up.”

Dean’s eyes widened before he flushed. Maybe being shut up in an apartment with his roommate wouldn’t be such a terrible thing after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I had a few ideas for this but decided to change them all when I got the TikTok idea. 
> 
> Come say hi on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/krislmart) and [Tumblr](https://krislmart.tumblr.com).


End file.
